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Ron Reynolds
Reynolds in 2021
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 27th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2011
Preceded by	Dora Olivo
Personal details
Born	Ronald Eugene Reynolds (1973-09-18) September 18, 1973 (age 51) Jackson, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jonita Wallace ​(divorced)​
Children	3
Residence(s)	Missouri City, Texas, U.S.
Education	Texas Southern University (BS) Texas Tech University School of Law (JD)
Occupation	Politician judge professor
Signature
Criminal information
Criminal status	Was incarcerated at the Montgomery County Jail Released
Conviction(s)	Solicitation of professional employment (5 counts)
Criminal penalty	Served 120 days of a 365 day sentence

Ronald Eugene Reynolds (born September 18, 1973) is an American politician and former lawyer who represents District 27 in the Texas House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2010. Reynolds is the first African American elected to represent Fort Bend County in the Texas House of Representatives since the Reconstruction era.

Reynolds was elected Chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus in August 2022. He led the charge to form the first-ever Texas Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Legislative Caucus in 2023 and now serves as its Chair.

Previously, he served as the Chair of Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus and was a managing partner and attorney in private practice with the Brown, Brown & Reynolds law firm. He specialized in personal injury law, Social Security disability and family law. He was an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University, a Houston Associate Municipal Judge, and was the president of the Houston Lawyers Association and president of the Missouri City & Vicinity National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Currently, he is a National Board Member of the NAACP since his appointment to the board in February 2024. He is also a principal at Civitas Engineering and Group Vice President of Business Development.

In November 2018, Reynolds was re-elected to his fifth term as a member of the Texas House of Representatives while he was in jail. One day after U.S. President Joe Biden's performance in the June 27, 2024, presidential debate, which he called a "train wreck", Reynolds became one of the first Democratic politicians to call for Biden to be replaced at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Early life and education

Reynolds moved from Tennessee to Missouri City, Texas, as a child with his single mother. He attended the local schools of Fort Bend County. Reynolds graduated from Texas Southern University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in public affairs. He then attended Texas Tech University School of Law, graduating in 1999, with a Juris Doctor degree.

Political career

Reynolds first vied in the 2008 Texas House of Representatives Democratic party primary election for District 27, against the incumbent, Dora Olivo.

Reynolds garnered 14,634 votes (49.7%) to Olivo's 14,821 (50.3%). In 2010, he vied in the Democratic primaries again and unseated Olivo after polling 5,158 (57.6%) to 3,791 (42.4%). In the same year's general election, he beat Derek Dean Grayson of the Libertarian party. He was sworn in on 10 January 2011 as State Representative, House District 27.

In 2012, he ran unopposed in the Democratic party primaries and won re-election with 69% of the votes in the general election. Reynolds was elected for a third term during the 2014 general election after polling 24,326 (67%) against David Wayne Hamilton's 11,990. Reynolds was opposed by Angelique Bartholomew in the runoff for the Democratic party primaries for the 27th district in 2016. Reynolds led in the March 1, 2016, primary but came up about 250 votes short to avoid a runoff election. He finished first in the four candidate primary with about 48.5% of the vote. Angelique Bartholomew received 24.1%. The runoff election occurred on May 24, 2016. Reynolds was supported by Al Green, Sheila Jackson Lee, Sylvester Turner, and the Democratic party chair of Fort Bend County in what was his first primary challenge since he had been elected and won the runoff election by a vote of 53% to 47%. He survived the low-turnout runoff election by 225 votes. He faced the Republican party politician Ken Bryant in the 2016 general election. During the Democratic primaries in 2018, he beat his opponent Wilvin Carter with 61.37%. He won the 2018 general election unopposed while in jail as the Republican party did not field a candidate.

During the 2020 general election, he defeated Tom Virippan to win re-election. Reynolds was arrested with U.S. congressman Al Green during a voting rights protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. in 2021. He was one of many Democrats who had arrest warrants issued to them after they refused to join a special session ordered by Greg Abbott in August 2021. He founded the Texas House Progressive Caucus in 2021 and in 2022, he polled 70.3% of the votes to beat the Republican party candidate, Sohrab Gilani. Reynolds was elected Chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus in August 2022. He led the charge to form the first-ever Texas Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Legislative Caucus in 2023.

Political views

Abortion

Reynolds is in favor of abortion rights and is pro-choice.

Cannabis

A joint resolution introduced by Reynolds called for an amendment to the state Constitution that would direct Texas legislators to "authorize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis for medical use in this state."

Justice system

Reynolds has supported criminal justice reform bills such as grants to police departments for police body cameras, grand jury reform, and James White's bill to decriminalize truancy. He supported a bill that would require a special prosecutor in cases of officer-involved shootings. Reynolds believes that his legal problems were politically and racially motivated, and that he is the victim of selective prosecution. In 2015, Reynolds likened a criminal case against him as a "modern day lynching".

Medicare

Reynolds has indicated his support for the expansion of Medicare to address the amount of uninsured residents in Texas, which has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the United States.

Minimum wage

In 2019, Reynolds proposed a bill to raise the minimum wage of Texas to $15 an hour. He said, "We need to close the economic gap here in Texas, working full time and trying to support a family on less than $15,000 a year is impossible."

Reparations

Reynolds proposed legislation that would have Texas pay reparations amounting to $95 million to descendants of the Sugar Land 95, which were 95 19th-century African Americans that were forced to work in a plantation in Sugar Land, Texas, under the convict lease system. He suggested that identification could be done by testing DNA.

Gaza-Israel conflict

In November 2023, Reynolds was a signer of a letter urging the Biden administration to secure additional humanitarian aid and push for a ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza. He signed a later letter urging the administration "to reassess the unconditional aid provided to Israel" in the hope that they would "not hesitate to halt the provision of offensive weapons in order to prevent any future human rights violations."

Awards and honors

Reynolds has been awarded with the EEOC Civil Rights All Star Award, the American Red Cross Humanitarian Award, the Houston Black Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award (twice), the Missouri City Juneteenth Community Service Award, and the DMARS Business Journal Top Lawyer & Public Servant Award. He was named in Houston's Top 40 Leaders Under 40, named Houston’s Top Lawyer by HTexas Magazine, and recognized in Who's Who in Black Houston. He was voted by the House Democratic Caucus as Freshman Legislator of the Year in 2011 and was named Public Servant of the Year by the Houston Minority Contractors Association.

He has also received the American Red Cross Humanitarian Award, the YMCA Minority Achievers Award, the NAACP Drum Major for Justice Award, and the Texas Association of African American Chamber of Commerce's Legislator of the Year Award.

Legal issues

Reynolds has faced several legal and ethical challenges during his career. In 2005, the State Bar of Texas sanctioned him twice for professional misconduct, resulting in a suspension from practicing law from April 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, followed by a probated suspension that lasted until June 30, 2009. During his first political campaign in 2008, the Texas Ethics Commission terminated his campaign treasurer. Reynolds continued to raise and spend campaign funds until a new treasurer was appointed six months later.

In 2012, Reynolds turned himself in to authorities on accusations of barratry and was released on bond. The case was dismissed in 2013 due to issues with evidence handling. Later that year, his law office was raided in connection with a $25 million kickback scheme. Reynolds was indicted for participating in a scheme to steer clients in exchange for kickbacks and was initially convicted in 2013, but a mistrial was declared. In 2015, he was convicted on misdemeanor charges of illegal solicitation of legal clients, fined, and sentenced to one year in prison. Reynolds planned to appeal the decision.

In April 2016, Reynolds was ordered to pay a former client $504,000. He was accused of winning a monetary settlement for a client whose daughter died in a car crash and then keeping her share of the money. Also in the same month, a Harris County judge ordered Reynolds to pay more than $95,000 to a couple after he had reached a settlement without informing them or having their consent. The next month it was reported that his law license had been suspended by the Supreme Court of Texas's Board of Disciplinary Appeals. It was also reported that he missed the filing deadline of May 16 to report his campaign fundraising information and that he owed over $30,000 in fines to the Texas Ethics Commission for failing to file campaign and personal financial statements on time. Reynolds filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2016. He listed he owed $3,000 in unpaid Houston-area tolls, $15,000 to the Texas Ethics Commission for failing to file financial disclosure forms, and faced $1.3 million in debt.

Between 2016 and 2019, Reynolds was ordered to pay significant settlements to former clients and owed substantial fines to the Texas Ethics Commission. His law license was suspended, and he filed for bankruptcy in 2016. His 2015 conviction was upheld in 2017, and he began his prison sentence in September 2018, being released in January 2019. Reynolds was formally disbarred in July 2019.

References

1. "DISTRICT 26 State Rep. – David Hamilton (Republican), Ron Reynolds (Democrat)". Fort Bend Star. October 28, 2014. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
2. ^ Gill, Julian; Scherer, Jasper (January 4, 2019). "State Rep. Ron Reynolds released from Montgomery Co. Jail after serving nearly 4 months". Chron.
3. "Ron Reynolds". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
4. ^ "Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds Takes Charge of Texas HBCU Caucus". stylemagazine.com.
5. "Students, Representatives announce new HBCU Caucus". Austin American-Statesman.
6. ^ "Mr. Ronald Eugene 'Ronald' Reynolds". State Bar of Texas. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
7. Lodha, Pooja (April 25, 2012). "Ft. Bend County state rep. charged with barratry". KTRK-TV. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012.
8. ^ "Rep. Reynolds, Ron District 27". Texas House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
9. "Rep. Ronald Reynolds". National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
10. "Representative Ron Reynolds Joins NAACP National Board of Directors". Houston Style Magazine. February 21, 2024.
11. ^ "Texas House member wins re-election from jail cell". KTXS-TV. Associated Press. November 7, 2018.
12. McCardel, Michael (July 7, 2024). "National delegate to Democratic National Convention says there is time to replace President Biden on the ticket". WFAA.
13. "Houston-area lawmaker among first to call for President Biden to be replaced at convention". KHOU. June 28, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
14. Schleifer, Theodore (November 22, 2014). "Reynolds says legal troubles do not define him". Houston Chronicle. (subscription required)
15. ^ "Q&A with candidates for Texas House District 27". KTRK-TV. October 14, 2020.
16. "Rep. Ron Reynolds (D)". Texas State Directory Online.
17. "Texas Consultants Power Rankings Score". Mike Hailey's Capitol Inside. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
18. Ramshaw, Emily (March 4, 2010). "Surprise!". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
19. ^ "Ron Reynolds". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
20. ^ Rocha, Alana (April 30, 2016). "Embattled State Lawmaker on Losing End of Malpractice Suit". The Texas Tribune.
21. Foxhall, Emily (May 25, 2016). "Returns show embattled House member Ron Reynolds winning primary race". Chron.
22. ^ Rocha, Alana (September 12, 2016). "State Rep. Ron Reynolds: Sued, Convicted and Now Bankrupt". The Texas Tribune.
23. ^ Kragie, Andrew (September 7, 2016). "State Rep. Ron Reynolds files for bankruptcy". Associated Press.
24. Rogers, Brian (April 29, 2016). "State rep hit with $500K court judgment". Houston Chronicle. (subscription required)
25. McCullough, Jolie (November 7, 2018). "State Rep. Ron Reynolds wins re-election from Montgomery County jail cell". KHOU. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
26. Shoop, Claire (March 3, 2020). "Updated: Democratic State Rep. Ron Reynolds, Republican Tom Virippan to compete in general election for Texas House District 27". Community Impact. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
27. Vasquez, Lucio; DeBenedetto, Paul (August 3, 2021). "Houston U.S. Rep. Al Green Given Citation During Voting Rights Rally In Washington D.C." Houston Public Media.
28. Eltohamy, Farah (August 3, 2021). "State Rep. Ron Reynolds and U.S. Rep. Al Green arrested while demonstrating for federal voting bill at U.S. Capitol". Denton Record-Chronicle.
29. "'Extraordinary abuse of power': State representatives from Houston respond to arrest warrants". KHOU. August 11, 2021.
30. "Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
31. "HBCU Students and Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds Lead Charge in Forming First-Ever Texas HBCU Legislative Caucus". Huston–Tillotson University. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
32. Rocha, Alana (June 12, 2014). "Republicans See Potential Opportunity in House Democrat's Legal Troubles". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020.
33. Harrington, A. J. (November 13, 2024). "Texas Lawmaker Files Cannabis Legalization Bill". Forbes.
34. Langford, Terri (February 14, 2016). "Rep. Ron Reynolds Fending Off Conviction, Challengers in Primary". The Texas Tribune.
35. Rocha, Alana (May 10, 2016). "Convictions, Lawsuits Don't Slow Ron Reynolds Re-Election Bid". The Texas Tribune.
36. Goldenstein, Taylor (August 8, 2019). "State Rep. Ron Reynolds is disbarred months after jail release". Houston Chronicle. (subscription required)
37. "Texas representative proposes bill to raise minimum wage to $15/hr". KTRK-TV. January 22, 2019.
38. Ortiz, Alvaro "Al" (March 5, 2019). "State Representative Proposes Paying $95 Million In Reparations To Descendants Of Sugar Land 95". Houston Public Media.
39. Salhotra, Pooja (November 12, 2023). "Texans fill downtown Austin streets to demand ceasefire in Gaza". The Texas Tribune.
40. Abrams, Cameron (November 8, 2023). "Texas House Democrats Urge Party Chair to Request Biden Call for Ceasefire in Israel-Hamas Conflict". The Texan.
41. Waltons, Brandon (April 24, 2024). "Democrats in Texas House Call on Biden to End 'Unconditional Support' to Israel". Texas Scorecard.
42. "Ron Reynolds". Texas Black Expo. November 17, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
43. ^ Tennissen, Marilyn (April 25, 2012). "Texas state rep. named 'Freshman of the Year' jailed on barratry charges". Southeast Texas Record.
44. "State Rep. Ron Reynolds named House Democratic Whip". Houston Chronicle. February 6, 2013.
45. "Ron Reynolds plans to seek re-election". Fort Bend Independent. September 16, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
46. "State Rep. Ron Reynolds files for re-election in the Democratic Party primary". Fort Bend Independent. December 3, 2019.
47. Jordan, Jay R. (November 24, 2015). "State Rep. Reynolds barred from practicing law on appeal bond". The Courier.
48. "Reynolds' Feb. 2005 Public Sanction" (PDF). The Texas Tribune. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 25, 2022.
49. "Reynolds' Nov. 2005 Public Sanction" (PDF). The Texas Tribune. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2022.
50. Wrigley, Deborah (April 25, 2012). "More details emerge about Rep. Reynold's arrest". KTRK-TV. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012.
51. Miller, Doug (February 27, 2013). "First charges dropped in prosecutor mess". KHOU. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013.
52. McCullough, Jolie (September 7, 2018). "State Rep. Ron Reynolds turns himself in to serve year-long jail sentence". The Texas Tribune.
53. Rocha, Alana (March 26, 2013). "Reynolds Booked Into Montgomery County Jail". The Texas Tribune.
54. Horswell, Cindy; Zaveri, Mihir (November 11, 2014). "Judge overturns conviction, sets new trial in legislator's solicitation case". Houston Chronicle. (subscription required)
55. ^ Ramsey, Ross (November 21, 2015). "State Rep. Reynolds Guilty of Ambulance-Chasing". The Texas Tribune.
56. Tresaugue, Matthew (November 24, 2015). "Lawmaker gets jail sentence, fine for 'ambulance chasing'". Houston Chronicle.
57. Keith, Damali (April 29, 2016). "$504,000 judgment against State Representative Ron Reynolds". Fox 26.
58. "More legal troubles for State Rep. Ron Reynolds after unpaid settlement". KTRK-TV. May 17, 2016.
59. Rocha, Alana (May 18, 2016). "State Rep. Reynolds' Law License Suspended as He Appeals Convictions". The Texas Tribune.
60. Snyder, Mike (September 29, 2016). "The curious case of Ron Reynolds, poised for re-election despite 'bad acts'". Houston Chronicle. (subscription required)
61. Platoff, Emma (January 4, 2019). "Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds released from jail — just in time for the legislative session". The Texas Tribune.
62. Barr, Jody (August 8, 2019). "TX lawmaker who won re-election from jail cell stripped of law license". KXAN-TV.
63. Despart, Zach (July 23, 2024). "In Texas, violating campaign ethics laws rarely yields repercussions. The attorney general's office is to blame". The Texas Tribune.

External links

• Asch, Sarah (February 10, 2023). "Texas Legislative Black Caucus priorities include health care, criminal justice reform this session". Texas Standard.
• Reynolds, Ron (July 14, 2021). "Texas state rep: Why I flew to the nation's capital". CNN.
• "State Representative Ron Reynolds, District 27 Update" (PDF). Fall 2021.

v t e Members of the Texas House of Representatives
88th Texas Legislature (2023) Speaker of the House Dade Phelan (R) Speaker pro tempore Charlie Geren (R)
▌Gary VanDeaver (R) ▌Jill Dutton (R) ▌Cecil Bell Jr. (R) ▌Keith Bell (R) ▌Cole Hefner (R) ▌Matt Schaefer (R) ▌Jay Dean (R) ▌Cody Harris (R) ▌Trent Ashby (R) ▌Brian Harrison (R) ▌Travis Clardy (R) ▌Kyle Kacal (R) ▌Angelia Orr (R) ▌John N. Raney (R) ▌Steve Toth (R) ▌Will Metcalf (R) ▌Stan Gerdes (R) ▌Ernest Bailes (R) ▌Ellen Troxclair (R) ▌Terry Wilson (R) ▌Dade Phelan (R) ▌Christian Manuel (D) ▌Terri Leo-Wilson (R) ▌Greg Bonnen (R) ▌Cody Vasut (R) ▌Jacey Jetton (R) ▌Ron Reynolds (D) ▌Gary Gates (R) ▌Ed Thompson (R) ▌Geanie Morrison (R) ▌Ryan Guillen (R) ▌Todd Ames Hunter (R) ▌Justin Holland (R) ▌Abel Herrero (D) ▌Oscar Longoria (D) ▌Sergio Muñoz Jr. (D) ▌Janie Lopez (R) ▌Erin Gamez (D) ▌Armando Martinez (D) ▌Terry Canales (D) ▌Robert Guerra (D) ▌Richard Raymond (D) ▌J. M. Lozano (R) ▌John Kuempel (R) ▌Erin Zwiener (D) ▌Sheryl Cole (D) ▌Vikki Goodwin (D) ▌Donna Howard (D) ▌Gina Hinojosa (D) ▌James Talarico (D) ▌Lulu Flores (D) ▌Caroline Harris Davila (R) ▌Andrew Murr (R) ▌Brad Buckley (R) ▌Hugh Shine (R) ▌Pat Curry (R) ▌Richard Hayes (R) ▌DeWayne Burns (R) ▌Shelby Slawson (R) ▌Glenn Rogers (R) ▌Frederick Frazier (R) ▌Reggie Smith (R) ▌Ben Bumgarner (R) ▌Lynn Stucky (R) ▌Kronda Thimesch (R) ▌Matt Shaheen (R) ▌Jeff Leach (R) ▌David Spiller (R) ▌James Frank (R) ▌Mihaela Plesa (D) ▌Stan Lambert (R) ▌Drew Darby (R) ▌Carrie Isaac (R) ▌Eddie Morales (D) ▌Mary González (D) ▌Suleman Lalani (D) ▌Evelina Ortega (D) ▌Joe Moody (D) ▌Claudia Ordaz (D) ▌Tracy King (D) ▌Brooks Landgraf (R) ▌Tom Craddick (R) ▌Dustin Burrows (R) ▌Carl Tepper (R) ▌Stan Kitzman (R) ▌John T. Smithee (R) ▌Four Price (R) ▌Ken King (R) ▌Candy Noble (R) ▌Ramon Romero Jr. (D) ▌Stephanie Klick (R) ▌Salman Bhojani (D) ▌Nate Schatzline (R) ▌Tony Tinderholt (R) ▌Nicole Collier (D) ▌David Cook (R) ▌Craig Goldman (R) ▌Giovanni Capriglione (R) ▌Charlie Geren (R) ▌Venton Jones (D) ▌Chris Turner (D) ▌Ana-Maria Ramos (D) ▌Rafael Anchía (D) ▌Jessica González (D) ▌Terry Meza (D) ▌Jared Patterson (R) ▌Victoria Neave (D) ▌Morgan Meyer (R) ▌Carl O. Sherman (D) ▌Toni Rose (D) ▌Yvonne Davis (D) ▌Angie Chen Button (R) ▌Rhetta Bowers (D) ▌John Bryant (D) ▌Julie Johnson (D) ▌Trey Martinez Fischer (D) ▌Philip Cortez (D) ▌John Lujan (R) ▌Elizabeth Campos (D) ▌Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D) ▌Steve Allison (R) ▌Mark Dorazio (R) ▌Diego Bernal (D) ▌Josey Garcia (D) ▌Ray Lopez (D) ▌Sam Harless (R) ▌Charles Cunningham (R) ▌Briscoe Cain (R) ▌Dennis Paul (R) ▌Tom Oliverson (R) ▌Alma Allen (D) ▌Mike Schofield (R) ▌Mano DeAyala (R) ▌Ann Johnson (D) ▌Jon Rosenthal (D) ▌John Bucy III (D) ▌Gene Wu (D) ▌Lacey Hull (R) ▌Jarvis Johnson (D) ▌Armando Walle (D) ▌Senfronia Thompson (D) ▌Harold Dutton Jr. (D) ▌Ana Hernandez (D) ▌Mary Ann Perez (D) ▌Christina Morales (D) ▌Shawn Thierry (R) ▌Jolanda Jones (D) ▌Penny Morales Shaw (D) ▌Hubert Vo (D) ▌Valoree Swanson (R)
▌Republican (87) ▌Democratic (63) Texas Legislature House Senate List of past legislatures

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